State lawmakers plan to investigate issues facing migrant farmworkers

DAVID ROYSEAssociated Press Writer

Published Tuesday, October 18, 2005

TALLAHASSEE -- Unsafe rides to work, unsanitary and crowded housing, exposure to pesticides and a lack of access to education are among the many problems facing Florida's migrant farmworkers that will be investigated by a special legislative committee.

Conditions faced by farmworkers received attention last week when state officials announced fines against a company for violations that could have led to excessive pesticide exposure. But workers say they face daily difficulties that go beyond that.

Workers' advocates are hoping the Legislature will give a closer look this year to several problems they face with the creation of a committee dedicated solely to those issues. The Joint Legislative Commission on Migrant and Seasonal Labor held its first meeting on Monday and heard from farmworker representatives about some of their biggest concerns.

"We're the ones that feed all the state of Florida," said Margarita Romo, who works with the Pasco County advocacy group Farmworkers Self-Help. "If we can't make things right for each other, how are we going to make that happen?"

One of the biggest concerns among advocates is the way growers hire laborers, contracting with a "crew chief" who then goes out and recruits laborers to work a field. The crew chief gets paid by the grower, and then pays the workers.

"They go out and make deals with the farmers, and they don't end up giving the farmworkers a good deal," Romo said.

She said labor contractors also exploit workers by charging them for transportation to and from the fields. That's illegal, but many immigrant workers don't know it.

Another issue is the safety of the transportation. Many workers are taken to jobs in large, unsafe vans that don't have seats. A bill that failed in the Legislature last year would have required not only seats, but seat belts, and safety inspections.

Sen. J.D. Alexander, a Polk County citrus grower and chairman of the committee, said the panel is just starting and it's not clear what legislation may come out of it.

But he said recent revelations about worker exposure to pesticide made it clear that issue at least needs to be looked at.

"I think the state has a real obligation to protect those that can't protect themselves," said Alexander, R-Winter Haven.

Tirso Moreno, a representative of the Farmworker Association of Florida, said he'd like the panel to draft legislation to allow farmworkers' children access to in-state college tuition. Many families can't qualify for it because they're undocumented aliens, he said.

Karen Woodall, another farmworker advocate, said she'd like to see the committee expand to include more minorities, since most migrant farmworkers are either black or Hispanic. The commission only includes one minority lawmaker, Rep. John Quinones, R-Kisssimmee, who is Puerto Rican.

Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, said the criticism was well-taken, but thought the panel could fairly look at farmworkers' plight.

"I think we should look beyond the ethnic makeup of the committee to see where the intentions are," Aronberg said. "I believe the intentions are good."